Controversial rapper Eminem (real name Marshall Mathers) makes his big screen debut with 8 MILE, a bracing drama directed by the increasingly audacious Curtis Hanson. Set in 1995 in the bleak, urban battle zone of Detroit, the film follows the struggles of a young man who is desperate to make a better life for himself. Jimmy Smith, Jr., better known as Rabbit, is destined for a life of squalor. Living in a cramped trailer with his deadbeat mom (Kim Basinger), Rabbit works in a factory to make ends meet. His only outlet is hip-hop. Possessing a talent for freestyle rapping, Rabbit still hasn't managed to unleash his true potential. But his best friend, Future (Mekhi Phifer), is determined to make that happen. Future forces Rabbit to enter a freestyle battle that he blew the week before, giving him another chance at redemption. Hanson's stellar portrait of lower-class urban disillusionment, shot with uncompromisingly gritty realism by Rodrigo Prieto, proves that the issue is no longer about race, it's about money. Eminem delivers a bold performance as the troubled youngster who is still trying to find his place in a harsh, cruel world.
Theatrical release: November 8, 2002
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35
Letterbox - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 - French
Dolby Surround - English
Dolby Surround - Spanish
DTS Surround 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes: "Eminem Rap Battles"
Music Video: Eminem - "Superman"
Making Of: THE MAKING OF 8 MILE
Featurette: THE MUSIC OF 8 MILE
Interactive Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Stars
Eminem: American rapper, 8 MILE
Kim Basinger: American Actress
Mekhi Phifer: Actor, CLOCKERS
Brittany Murphy: Actres, CLUELESS, GIRL, INTERRUPTED
Eugene Byrd: American Actor
Taryn Manning: Actor, CRAZY/BEAUTIFUL (2001)
Omar Benson Miller: Actor, 8 MILE (2002)
De'Angelo Wilson: Actor, 8 MILE (2002)
Michael Shannon:
Evan Jones: American Actor, 8 MILE (2002)
Chloe Greenfield: Actor, 8 MILE (2002)
Director
Curtis Hanson: Oscar-winning, director, screenwriter, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
Producer
Brian Grazer: Producer
Curtis Hanson: Oscar-winning, director, screenwriter, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
Jimmy Iovine: Producer, 8 MILE (2002)
Screenwriter
Scott Silver: Director/Screenwriter
Director of Photography
Rodrigo Prieto: Director of Photography, AMORES PERROS (2001)
Music
Jeff Bass: Music, 8 MILE (2002)
Music Performer
Eminem: American rapper, 8 MILE
Music
Luis Resto: Music, 8 MILE (2002)
Review 1:
"...The movie is a success on its own terms because the director doesn't condescend to pop music..."
Source: New York Times
p.E1 11/08/2002
Review 2:
"...The rap sequences are shot and edited with the excitement of a crisply broadcast sporting event..."
Source: USA Today
p.7E 11/08/2002
Review 3:
"...8 MILE qualifies as a cinematic event by tapping into the roots of Eminem and the fury and feeling that inform his rap....Eminem wins by a knockout..."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.97-8 11/28/2002
Review 4:
"...Eminem is magnetic playing a version of himself....Basinger is entirely credible..."
Source: Variety
p.27-32 11/04/2003
Review 5:
"...An illuminating addition to that hall-of-funhouse-mirrors that is Eminem's persona..."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.36-42 02/01/2003
Review 6:
"...Eminem projects the downbeat sex appeal and scurrilous, dead-eyed yearning of a rap-world James Dean....It's a movie of catchy rebel-underdog power..."
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.49-54 09/27/2002
Review 7:
"...Eminem shows real screen presence....8 MILE hits hard and provocatively close to home..."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.113 10/19/2002
Review 8:
"...Eminem possesses a furtive instinct as a performer..."
Source: Box Office
p.122 11/01/2002